The Shadow

Chapter 43: The Shadow

Bai Yanliang had always known there was something wrong with Yanren's death.

His memories had never failed him before. Yet that day, there wasn't a single image in his mind, as if... someone had forcibly torn the memory away.

Feng Xiuxue knew about Bai Yanren's death, which meant she had investigated what happened back then. Her older sister had disappeared, and the timing was almost exactly the same as when Yanren had met with disaster.

The first thing Bai Yanliang considered was how much of what she said he could believe.

A moment later, he reached a conclusion.

Feng Xiuxue had no reason to deceive him.

She probably wanted to get some information from him, but unfortunately, Bai Yanliang knew even less than she did. After all, he had spent ten years in a psychiatric hospital and had been in no position to investigate anything.

Silence fell between them.

Outside the window, traffic streamed by and crowds packed the streets.

Everyone in this world had secrets; they only differed in number and size.

The two of them deliberately avoided certain sensitive topics, such as how they had entered Mist Gathering.

Bai Yanliang guessed that Feng Xiuxue might also have a key—her sister's key.

Mist Gathering was no safe place. It could claim a person's life at any moment.

But... they were already inside it, and there was no way to escape.

Perhaps that was what had happened to Bai Yanren and Feng Yiru back then, too.

The café was silent, save for the faint sound coming from the television mounted on the wall.

"...Suspect Hao Bowen died by suicide in the Jiangbei Branch detention center in the early hours of last night. Why would a young boy turn to murder? The lack of education is gradually leading to tragic consequences..."

Bai Yanliang suddenly raised his head. Feng Xiuxue thought he was about to say something, but saw that he was staring at the television without blinking.

Feng Xiuxue followed his gaze, and her expression slowly changed.

The footage on the television was pixelated, but the glaring swath of red was still shocking.

But that wasn't what made Feng Xiuxue's face change. It was... a twisted black shadow leaving the body and walking out of frame. She could see it!

She shot to her feet. The scrape of the table and chairs sounded especially loud in the quiet café.

"It's them!"

Feng Xiuxue's voice suddenly turned shrill, but she clearly didn't realize it. Or perhaps, after seeing that scene, her mind was in such turmoil that she couldn't spare a thought for anything else.

As a result, the people in the café—some on their lunch breaks, others chatting quietly—turned to look at her. But when they recognized Feng Xiuxue, their expressions grew increasingly strange: first frowns of displeasure, then puzzled suspicion, and finally... excited delight.

"Feng Yiru?"

"Is that Feng Yiru?"

"It really is her! What's she doing here?"

Feng Xiuxue's sudden outburst had put her in danger. Fortunately, Bai Yanliang wasn't the type to lose his head.

He decisively pulled Feng Xiuxue, who was still staring blankly at the television, to her feet, left a few bills behind, and hurried out.

Perhaps Bai Yanliang had moved too quickly, or perhaps the people in the café couldn't believe their eyes. By the time they came to their senses, Feng Xiuxue had already been led away by a strange man.

They were certain that young man wasn't anyone famous, much less a celebrity.

Wait... why was Feng Xiuxue here, on a date with some nobody?

Gossip always spread quickly, especially when it was about a popular actress.

Fortunately, Bai Yanliang wasn't much of an internet user. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been looking too happy right now.

On a bench by the street.

Bai Yanliang frowned as he looked at the scratch on his arm.

He hadn't expected that, the moment Feng Xiuxue came to her senses, the first thing she'd do was scratch him—and all because he'd taken her hand?

"You saw the shadow in the footage too?" Bai Yanliang asked, looking at Feng Xiuxue, who had her head down and was trying to hide. Now she seemed to remember she was a public figure.

Feng Xiuxue nodded. She sat on the bench like a guilty thief, unable to keep still.

"There are plenty of pretty girls these days. No one's going to pay you much attention. Acting like this will only draw more eyes."

Bai Yanliang swore he was telling the truth, but Feng Xiuxue's look turned distinctly unfriendly.

Still, after he said that, she at least seemed to calm down a little.

"That twisted black shadow... I think only we can see it..." Feng Xiuxue said quietly.

We?

Bai Yanliang considered what she meant.

The only thing the two of them had in common—and the only thing that set them apart from other people—was Mist Gathering. In other words, only those inside Mist Gathering could see it.

So, even though they hadn't noticed, had Mist Gathering already changed them somehow...?

That black thing clearly wasn't a normal creature.

The television footage must have been reviewed before it aired, but no one else could see it. They all thought the footage was normal.

And from what Feng Xiuxue said, she seemed to have seen this kind of thing more than once?

Bai Yanliang didn't hide his probing gaze, and Feng Xiuxue soon understood what he meant.

"...After my sister disappeared, I went into her room. Once... I happened to see something like that... crawl into her mirror."

"And... Li Mu and the others mentioned that they sometimes see things like that in the real world, too."

I see...

Bai Yanliang rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

What exactly were those things?

Ghosts?

No... If they were the same kind of vengeful spirits as the ones in Mist Gathering, the order of this world would have collapsed long ago.

Then what... were they?

Bai Yanliang's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Although he couldn't yet determine what the shadow was, he could be certain that it was connected in some way to what had happened to Yanren ten years ago!

There were too many similarities, too many coincidences.

Bai Yanliang didn't believe in coincidences. In his view, every coincidence in the world was inevitable, shaped by some unknowable factor.

What he needed to do now was find what had caused these coincidences.

With that in mind, Bai Yanliang prepared to take his leave.

But as soon as he stood up, Feng Xiuxue hurriedly rose from the bench as well.

"I'm leaving," Bai Yanliang said calmly, looking at her.

"I know." Feng Xiuxue adjusted her oversized sunglasses, then seemed to decide that wasn't enough protection and quickly lowered her head.

"Why are you following me?"

"Who's following you?" Feng Xiuxue said, looking around while hiding most of her body behind Bai Yanliang.

"I'm going to investigate the case." Bai Yanliang gave her a helpless look and told her what he was actually planning to do.

"So am I." Feng Xiuxue looked at Bai Yanliang and said seriously, "Something like that appeared in my sister's room. It must be connected to her disappearance."

"But..."

Bai Yanliang fell silent. He suddenly realized he couldn't refute her words, because her goal really did seem much the same as his.